Folding ax



I. C. LOVE FOLDING AX Nmi. 4-

Filed April 18 1924 abbouwg Patented Nov. l8, 192d,

IRA C. LOVE, OF BEECH, KANSAS.

,7 FOLDING- AX.

Application filed April 18, 19.24:. Serial N0. 707,460.

To all whom it may concern:

Be, it known that I, IRA C. Love, a citizen oi the United States,residing at Reece, in the ceu ntyof Greenwoodand State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Axes, of whichfollowing. isa specification.

hisinventio n relates to new and useful improvements in ariesht thefolding type and has lf or its principal object to provide a simpleandefiicient means whereby the ax head may be supported in an operativeerieapem i e es t qni one of the imp r t ant objects of the presentinvention to provide a folding ax of the above mentioned' character,wherein the ax head be readily and easily moved to operative" positionand held therein against accidental engagement; the locking meansassociated witl the ax head and handle therefor being urtherprovidedwith means for receiving: thecutting edge of the blade of the at headwhen thelatter is in an inoperative po sition thus rendering thehandling of the ax when not in use more safe.

A still ifurther object of the invention is '0 Prov de a field n of thea v m tioned character, which is of such a construction as to enable thean head to be told ed into an inoperative position whereby the ax may beconvenie tly carried around in a compact manner ancwithout any danger ofthe. same causing any injury to the person by the cutting edge of the axblade.

A still further object is to provide a foldaz; of the abeve mentionedcharacter, which is simple in censtruction, inexpensive, strong a d d rae and furthermore adapt ed for the purposes for which it is designateQther objects and advantages of this invention will become apparentduring the eased the f l ew nfz des r p o theiafibompanying drawingforming a part offthis specification and in which like numeralsdesignate like parts throughout flie ame Figure 1, a s de ele a o of myimp o d a lsh aina. he s m in n per p s an wit pa ts sh n i se an figu e2 s t s m a w Sha ns e e n a fielded P s ion.

n th drawing he e f h P PQs of illustration is shown the preferredembodiment of my invention, the numeral 1 de ignate a handle, he upperPo t of which is bifurcated. as shown at 2 in the drawing. Adapted to bepivotally support ed in the bifurcated end of the handle 1 is the axhead 3, the same being the usual construction and proyided witha'cutting edge 41; on one end and the 1 121 hammer head on the oppositeend. The pivot means for the ax head is illustrated at 6 and'the ax headis preferably pivoted between the upper bifurcated end of the handlecent the hammer head portion 5 thereof i ot l y a d da-bly uppor ed ithe intermediate portion of the 'bifur'cated end of theh andl'e 1 is thelatch 7. Thela'tch '4' is provided with a longitudinally intending slot8 and the'pivot pin 9 extends'trhnsversely through thebifurcatedportions Qt the handle and through the Slot 8, of the latch 7whereby the latter is pivotally ported between the bifurcated ends ofthe handle. The purpose if the S10. to provide a means for permittingthe longitudinal sliding moyement of the latch between the bifurcatedportions of the handle and normally the pivot pin 9, rests in the bottomof the slot 8 through the medium of the coil spring 10 which is disposedin a suitable opening provided in the upper portion of the latch and aplug such as is shown at 11 holds the spring 10 in place between thepivot pin 9 and the bottom of the plug. so that the spring will normallycause the latch to be disposed in the manner as shown in Figure l] i Thelower portion of the latch T is cut away at its side as shown at 12 toprovide the shoulder 13 and the shoulder 13 is adapted to co op eratewith similar shoulder 14 formed on the adjacent side of the handle 1 andwhich extends into the lower portion of the bifurcation 2. 'lhe purposeof this construction is to provide means whereby the latch 7 will hesecurely supported in position between the bifurcated pdrtioi s o" thehandle and in engagement with it head 0 a t e ab et ie e be P used inthe manners hereinafter to he fully described. "Pressed on the upp tio iof thelatch on th said lfi lein thef eut a yponion l2 is aifrangedtovide ashoulder 13is the flangedportion' T15 and the upper edge of whichtapers a's'shown at 16 for. engagement with the notch 17 formed in thebottom face of the axhead 3 adjacent the hammer head 5 thereof in thewas c ass nseen T e" fine portion 15 will engage the sides of thebifurcated ends of thehandle and also prevent the inward movement of thelatch. when the an is in an operative position.

The ax head 3 has its bottom face provided with the tapered cut awayportion 18 adjacent the notch 17 andthe same cooperates with the taperedupper edge 19 of the latch 7; The ax head 3 is further provided with ashoulder 20 which is arranged on each side of the same and the purposeof this shoulder is to provide a means for engagement with the oppositeside of the bifurcated ends of the handle when the ax is in an operativeposition in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 1.

The latch 7 is provided in one of its side faces with the notch 21 andthe same provides a means for actuating the latch The opposite side faceof the latch is provided with a longitudinally extending groove orchannel 22, the purpose of which will be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

Normally the 21X head when in an operative position is arranged as isshown in Figure 1 of the drawing and it will thus be seenthat thetapered upper edge 19 of the latch is held in engagement with thetapered cut away portion 18 of the ax head by means of the coil spring10 which normally holds the latch upwardly between the bifurcated endsof the handle and the flanges 16, shoulders 20 and the cooperatingshoulders 13 and 14 will prevent any possibility of the ax head fromaccidentally folding up when-in use.

When it is not desired to use the arc, the latch 7 is moved downwardly,it being understood that there is sufiicient clearance between the lowerend of the latch and the bottom of the bifurcation to permit the Idownward movement of the latch and as the latch moves-downwardly, thespring is compressed and the upper end of the latch is brought out ofengagement with the tapered cut away portion 18 in the notch 17 formedin the bottom of the axhead 3. The

latch 7 is then swung outwardly into the direction of the arrow untilthe same is disposed in a substantially horizontal position in themanner shown in Figure 2. The head 3 is then swung on its pivot 6between the bifurcated ends of the handle in the opposite direction ofthe arrow in such a man ner as to cause the cutting edge 4 of the ax 3to be received in the bifurcated portion of the handle and the same willfit in the longitudinally extending groove 22 formed in one of the sidesof the latch, it being further understood that the groove 22 will bearranged in the latch 7 so as to completely encase the cutting edge, ofthe'blade of the ax head in the manner more clearly illustrated inFigure 2.. When the ax head and latch are in the position shown inFigure 2, the ax may be conveniently and safely carried around withoutany danger of the person handling the ax coming in contact with thecutting edge thereof.

The simplicity of my device enables the same to be readily and easilyplaced in an operative or inoperative position as the case may be andthe latch T will hold the ax head in either position against accidentaldisplacement. Furthermore an arrangem nt of this character provides adevice which may be manufactured at a very low cost and the partsfurther arranged as to be strong and durable.

lVhile I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is tobe understood that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement ofparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my what I claim is z- 1. A folding ax comprising abifurcated handle, an ax head pivotally supported in the outer ends ofthe bifurcated portion of said handle, a latch pivotally and slidablysupported in the bifurcated portion of the handle, resilient means fornormally urging the latch into engagement with the ax head for holdingthe same in an operative position, means for limiting the swingingmoven'ient of the latch in one direction, means for limiting theswinging movement of the ax head in one direction, said latch beingprovided with a slot for receiving the cutting edge of the ax head whenthe av head is in an inoperative position.

2v A folding ax comprising a bifurcated handle, an as head pivot-allysupported in the outer end of the bifurcated portion of the handle, alatch slidably and pivotally supported in the bifurcated portion of theinvention,

handle, means for normally urging the latch into engagement with the axhead for holding the same in an operative position, means forlimitingthe swinging movement of the latch and. a); head in onedirection, said latch adapted to be disposed in a substantiallyhorizontal plane when in one position,

said latch having a groove provided there-- in for recei ing the cuttingedge of the an head when the same is disposed between the bifurcatedends of the handle when in an inoperative position.

3. A folding ax comprising a bifurcated handle, an ax head pivotallysupported in the upper end ,of the bifurcated handle, a latch slidablyand pivotally supported in the intermediate portion of the bifurcatedend of the handle, a coil spring associated with the latch and thehandle for normally urging the latch into engagement with the an headfor holding the latter in an operative position, means at the upper endof the latch adapted for engagement with the bifurcated handle to limitthe inward move-- ment of the latch, additional means associated withthe lower portion of the latch and adapted for engagement with the lowerportion of the bifurcated end of the handle for limiting the outwardmovement of the latch when the ax head is in an operative position, saidlatch being adapted to be disposed in a substantially horizontal plane,and being further provided with a groove for receiving the cutting edgeof the ax head when the same is disposed between the bifurcated ends ofthe handles when in an inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

IRA C. LOVE.

